Opening weekend storm to hit Colorado, Summit County

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Parts of Summit County could see up to 8 inches of snow out of a storm set to hit Colorado, delivering 1-2 feet of snow in some southern parts of the state.

The clouds are expected to roll in later in the day today, with showers potentially starting this afternoon. The snow should fly tonight, continuing through Saturday and possibly into Sunday.

"It's a pretty large storm, but it's not concentrated," National Weather Service meteorologist Kyle Fredin said. "It's just a cold period with moisture."

The storm is set to arrive just in time for Breckenridge Ski Resort's opening weekend and the second weekend of the season for Copper Mountain and Keystone Resort. All of the county's resorts are currently operating.

A 30 percent chance of rain today will turn into an 80 percent chance of snow tonight and into Saturday. The snow will likely keep up through Saturday night and into Sunday morning.

Some parts of Summit County will likely see snowfall totaling 3-6 inches, while others may get 4-8. The highest accumulations are expected on west-facing slopes and at higher elevations.

Boulder weather watcher Joel Gratz of OpenSnow.com indicates the best day to hit the ski areas along Interstate-70 will be Saturday morning, when some fluffier snow could be falling heavily for a few hours, layering on top of heavier powder accumulation from the previous night.

High temperatures may climb into the high 30s today before the cold front hits, bringing a low overnight temperature of 18 degrees. Saturday's projected high is only in the low 20s, before temperatures plunge again into the single digits Saturday night.

The weather will stay cold for Veterans Day on Sunday with highs in the teens and an overnight low near zero.

The weather is expected to clear up, with sun back in the forecast for the first part of next week, according to National Weather Service reports.

As of today, all four Summit County ski areas and Loveland are open.

Arapahoe Basin has the intermediate High Noon and Ramrod runs open on an 18-inch base. There are four trails and two lifts open on an 18-inch mid-mountain base at Copper.

"With the forecasted drop in temperatures and projected snowfall, we hope to introduce more trails to our guests this weekend," Copper spokeswoman Austyn Williams stated Thursday in an email.

Keystone is boasting 54 acres of skiable terrain with four runs and five lifts open.